


Stranded

by PinkPandorafrog



Category: Borderlands
Genre: Aromantic, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-01
Updated: 2015-01-01
Packaged: 2018-03-04 18:09:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3079178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkPandorafrog/pseuds/PinkPandorafrog
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two years after the fall of the Warrior, there's a weird signal out in the Dust. Gaige is all set to go investigate, and finds out she's getting company, whether or not she wants it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stranded

I opened the door to HQ, stepping in out of the omnipresent sunshine, letting the door bang shut behind me. It was starting to get a bit worse for wear with all the coming and going it saw on a daily basis. Someone was going to have to take a look at it.

I wrinkled my nose, pausing and looking over my shoulder at the damn thing. Someone. Someone probably meant me. I was the best fucking engineer on Pandora, and the extent of practical application I ever got to see was fixing goddamn doors and servicing the computers upstairs. The computer that SOMEONE kept bogging down with FUCKING PORN that they got from god-knows-where on the Echonet, all loaded up with viruses...

I grabbed the bill of my hat and pulled it down a little further over my face. Lil said she had something for me, but if it was going to be fixing that damn computer...  
Shaking my head, I went over to the stairs, running up them until I got to the top. The landing, the bunkroom- empty- and the control center or whatever Lil was calling it today.

She was there, leaning over the gigantic table in the middle, braced on her hands. Her profile was to me as she stared at the table, but she looked... Worried. That was way more worry than porn-laden computers usually generated.

She wasn't alone, either. Mordy was there too, leaned back in one of the swiveling chairs with his feet up on a desk and his hands clasped easily behind his head. His face was unreadable behind his goggles, but he looked like he was watching Lil. Or the ceiling, really. Could have been anything.

I stopped just inside the doorway, to the side in case anyone else wanted to come in. I rested my hands on my hips, looking at Mordy, then at Lil. “What's up? Computer fucked again?”

She didn't stand up, but she turned her face to look at me. “No. Ellie said that she's picking up some kind of weird electrical signal from way out in the Dust. It's too far for her to get to easily, but she said it's reading kinda like Hyperion.”

“Hyperion?” I blinked at her for a moment. “Thought we took care of all of that.” After killing Jack's Warrior two years ago, Opportunity and the Moonbase had been quick work.

“Yeah. She said it's like Hyperion, but a little different. That's what has me worried.” She did look worried, too, it was easier to see the expression on her face now that she was facing me.

I lifted my hands from my hips, rubbing them eagerly in front of me. “I am the queen of weird electrical shit. You want me to head out now? I'll be driving, right?” I didn't really like the Dust. It was, well, dusty. Sand got EVERYWHERE, and I had to bring, like, an extra fifty gallons of oil for my arm. But it would get me out of boring-ass Sanctuary, and maybe I'd even get to play with foreign electronics.

“We.” Mordy spoke for the first time, drawing my attention to him. He was looking at me now- at least his face was pointed at me. “I'm driving.”

I stared at him in silence for a moment, then looked back at Lil, hands returning to my hips. “This is more of that, 'Gaige is too young to be going off by herself' bullshit, isn't it? Because, I swear to FUCK, Lil-”

“Bandits.” The word fell tiredly out of her mouth. “That's where they all got pushed to, and I'd rather you be able to concentrate on what you need to than have one eye on whatever it is and the other on trying not to get shot in the back of the head.”

I waved my metal arm in front of me, and Deathtrap digistructed next to me with a garbled digital greeting. I looked over at his floating form, a pointed look that traveled from his eye to the bottom where I'd decided against legs. “Oh look, metal bodyguard! It's a fucking miracle!”

Lil pulled the Maliwan SMG off of her hip and snapped a single shot off at Deathtrap, right in his eye. He deconstructed with the angry scrape of metal on metal. She looked at me, one eyebrow raised, putting her gun away again. “Now what?”

I stared at her for a second in disbelief. She just shot DT! I mean, sure he would be able to digistruct again, just as soon as he finished resetting, but... “Seriously? Did you just do that?”

“Sure. Bandits could, too.”

“Yeah, but you're, like, five feet away from me! I'm pretty sure he's just going to shred anyone who gets that close.”

There was a pair of thumps, almost in sync, and I looked over to see that Mordy had pulled his feet off the desk and was now bracing his hands on his knees to stand straight up. “It's just safer. You'll have Deathtrap, me, and Talon to keep you safe.”

Mordy didn't usually go on about the whole age thing, so it wasn't like I could put that argument on him. I didn't need a fucking babysitter, but APPARENTLY I wasn't exactly going to be given a choice.

He looked down at me, and I could see his mouth move into a smirk. “Who else would be able to fix the computer when Brick loads it up with porn?”

“It IS Brick! I fucking knew it.” My hand clenched into a fist and I banged it against my thigh. “Dammit, couldn't he at least go to sites without the viruses?” I shook my head. “I'll make a list for him, laser it to the damn terminal.”

There was a silence in the room, sudden and thick with awkwardness. They were both looking at me, and Lil looked like she was torn between disbelief and laughter. “You have a list?”

“You don't?” I countered, and she looked away. I looked back up at Mordy. “I have to get my shit together, you wanna meet in Pierce Station in, like... fifteen?” That would give me enough time to get my guns, check for ammo, fill my storage deck with oil... No hooch, though. Mordy had given it up to raise Talon and had never started drinking again. Out of respect, I didn't drink around him. Fuck, the Dust was going to be miserable without booze. I almost asked if Sal could go with me instead, but then there was a good chance we'd just get out in the middle of nowhere and get too shit-faced for me to do whatever it was I needed to do. No, it was probably a good thing it was Mordy. Stupid responsibilities.

Wrinkling my nose, I turned and walked back out, thumping down the stairs and heading outside. The door banged shut behind me. Someone was going to have to fix that.

My house wasn't too far away, just down the street to the right. It was a little house, space in Sanctuary was kinda hard to come by, but it was big enough for a small workshop and an even tinier living area. My guns were all hanging on the wall by the bed, clean and ready to go. I took good care of my shit, even if I hardly got a chance to use it anymore. Ammo was there, enough to fill the ammo sections of my storage deck. I grabbed my shotgun and my assault rifle... Shield generator, grenade mod. I hadn't suited up like this in what felt like FOREVER, but it felt like I was coming home when I put it all back on. A quick look showed that DT was ready to go again, but I let him be. Didn't want him out until I needed him, sand messed up his shit, too.

Sleeping bag, 'cause the desert was fucking COLD when the sun actually went down, and who knew how long we'd be out there? Water, skag jerky- it's not too bad with enough smoke-flavor-, and the rest filled up with oil. Tools all in their proper places... I was about as ready as I was going to get.

Mordy was waiting for me when I got to Pierce Station, Talon perched on his shoulder and watching me in that unblinking way. I moved over to them and reached up to scratch Talon's head, and he bobbed a few times in appreciation. He was all grown up now, and he looked just as scary as Bloodwing had, but he was really just a cuddle-monster. Every so often, I'd tease Mordy about it, saying that he must take after his owner, and I'd just get silent stares in return that made me laugh. I grinned a little just thinking about it.

“Ready to go?” he asked. His sniper rifle was poking up over his other shoulder, barrel dripping purple with slag. 

“Yeah. You really driving?”

“I've seen you drive. I actually want to get there.” He appeared to be looking down at me, though I couldn't fucking tell. “Alive.”

“Whatever. The fastest way to get somewhere is in a straight line.”

“Even if it means going through shit?”

“Especially.” I grinned up at him before turning to the Fast Travel station. He was here, meant he was ready to go, right? If he wasn't... Too fucking bad.

I hate Fast Travel. I mean, absolutely essential on Pandora, but I always worry that it's going to fuck up the arm. Which reminded me... “Hey, Mordy. You know how sand and electronics are no bueno together, right?”

“Yeah.” That was drawn out into a question.

I looked up at him, pointing to my left arm. “If my arm just seizes up, like just fucking COMPLETELY seizes up, I'm going to need your help to get it off.”

“Take off your arm.” He looked at me in silence for a moment again, and I thought I saw him turn just a little bit green.

“The metal one, obviously. I'm at a bad angle to do it myself. It's happened just once, so we probably won't have to worry about it, but I figured I should probably let you know.”

“Thanks.” He didn't mean it.

Ellie came out of her shop, though, with hugs for everyone. Ellie's amazing, and her hugs are the best ever. She got us set up with a technical, though, and it wasn't too long before we were zipping through the desert. Lil had given Mordy the coordinates, and it was kinda nice to just kick back and watch it all go by.

At least for the first little while. The thing about deserts is that they're all desert-y. Sand. Hills. A rock or some plant-thing every so often. Lots of spiderants, though. I didn't know what he was doing bitching about my driving, he drove over so many of the stupid things it was like we were on a roller coaster or something.

Eventually, though, he stopped. He put one hand up to his goggles and fiddled with them for a second, then looked over at me and nodded. “It's around here somewhere.”

I stood up, supporting myself with the windshield, and looked around. Sand. As far as the eye could see. “If it's buried, I'm gonna cry.”

Mordy lifted one gloved hand, pointing off to our left. “Could be in there.” There were some dunes over that way, rising up and then presumably dropping down the other side.

“Could be. I'm surprised we haven't seen anything in the way of bandits or tracks or camps or anything.” I squinted at the dunes like it was going to help me see through them, but there was no such luck.

“Big desert.”

“Soooo big!” I raised my voice into a breathy falsetto that drew another look. I grinned at him and sank back into the mostly uncomfortable seat. “You gonna drive us over there?”

“We should walk. In case it is buried, I don't want to move the sand around too much.”

I wrinkled my nose and got out of the car, jumping in an effort not to slide ungracefully to the ground. I'm short, but even Mordy had to hop a little to get out. Fucking technicals, all built for tall people.

Resting my hands on my hips, I surveyed the surrounding area from my new vantage point on the ground. It was bright, it was hot, it was quiet. With a sigh, I pulled my shotgun off of my hip and held it easily in front of me, starting towards the gentle slope of the dune. It didn't take long before we were moving upwards, the incline was long and gradual.

My feet kept sinking in the loose sand, I had to catch myself on my hands more than once. About halfway up, I had to take out a small container of oil and give my poor arm a bit, because all that loose sand... fucking sand.

At last we reached the top, though, and looked over into... “Nothing?” I asked, staring down at the sudden dropoff.

“Nah. There's something under here. I can see the lights.” He pointed almost directly underneath his feet. “We can probably jump down.”

It was... Maybe eight feet down, but the sand looked loose enough to cushion the drop. “You can, maybe. If I jump, there's a good chance my arm goes down into that. No thank you.”

He made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a snicker. “I'll catch you.”

I looked over at him, looking up to see his face pointing at me, an amused twist to his mouth. “Seriously?”

“Tiny thing like you? Sure. Probably don't weigh much more than Talon.” Talon let out a distinctly smug-sounding screech at his master's words. He'd spent the ride here clinging to one of the bars in the back, and now he was back on Mordy's shoulder, looking at me. He alighted as Mordy jumped down.

He went to his hands and knees in the sand, then pulled himself upright, brushing off his pants as he looked into the dune. “It's a storage container, the door's open just a crack.” He pushed at something, then his goggles swung back up to me. “Come on down.” He lifted his arms, holding them out to me.

“Just jump? And you'll catch me?” My dubiousness carried through on my voice. He didn't answer, just stood there with his arms out, and I sighed. “Fine. But if I kill you...” I hunkered down and sort of shifted myself forward until I was airborne. It wasn't that far until I impacted with his body. He grunted and stumbled back a step, but his arms came around me and he kept his feet. 

He slid me down the front of his body until my feet touched the ground, too, my hoodie slid easily over the red thing he wrapped himself with. “You're heavier than you look.”

“Metal arm.” I steadied myself before pushing away from him, turning to face what he'd been looking at.

It was a shipping container, Hyperion logo emblazoned on it. It was an older one, though, which explained how it was different than the Hyperion signals we were used to. The door was slightly open, it looked like something heavy had impacted against it. It was dark within, but I could see the slow, steady blink of a green light at the far end.

I looked at Mordy, unable to keep from grinning a little. This was something new. Lights were good. “Wanna go inside?”

In answer, he put his hands on the door and pushed. It budged, but not very much. It took the two of us to wrestle it open against the sand, and it made the most horrible screeching sound of abused metal. My shoulders came up like my ears were trying to hide in them, but at least the fucking thing was open.

There was a body inside. Just one, completely dead. And, like, long-dead. Bleached white bones were staring at us from the tatters of an old uniform of some sort. I stepped inside the metal container and nudged the thing out with my toe, spilling it outside onto the sand. Squinting against the sudden change in lighting, I focused on the green blink. It was a panel of some sort.

Behind me, Mordy was talking into his Echo. “Hey, Lil. It's a shipping container, old Hyperion. Looks like something hit it, set off a signal of some sort. Gaige is going in to have a look.” His voice faded a little like he turned around, and I used the opportunity to digistruct DT to go out and stand guard with him. Not that there was anything to guard against.

I pulled a flashlight out of my storage deck, turning it on to get a better look at the panel. It was just a short-range communication panel, the kind that was keyed to answer a nearby computer terminal. It was functional, but there was nothing remotely close by for it to communicate with. I queried it and got a response that the container was, in fact, functioning at 100% efficiency. “That's it?” I muttered to it, banging on it with the solid end of my flashlight.

The lighting was changing, and I turned just in time to see Mordy shutting the door to the container. “Whaaaaaat the fuck?” I asked, shining the flashlight on him so I could see him.

“There's a sandstorm coming.” Which was why we'd brought a technical, even though there was just the two of us. We could hop out and there would be enough room underneath it for both of us to take shelter. Now, though, we were already in the shipping container, and sandstorms moved FAST out here, we might not be able to get to the technical in time.

“Great.” I sank down to sit cross-legged on the floor, my clipped response echoing a little off the surrounding metal walls. “Now what the fuck are we going to do?” I rested the flashlight against my crossed legs.

“Look at the light?”

“It's just a communication panel, searching for a terminal to talk to. Any logs from it would be on the terminal of origin. It's blinking to show us that it works.” I raised my hands and waved them a little in the air. “Yaaaay.” If it was Sal out here with me, it wouldn't be a problem. Pop the top off some rakk-ale, get stupid drunk, make terrible decisions. I counted Mordy as a friend, but we really didn't have a whole lot in common. “How big is the storm?”

“Dunno. Communication cut out before Lilith could tell me.” 

I sighed. “Well, fuck. I KNEW I should have asked if Sal could come out here with me instead. The container's completely functional, by the way, which means that the air recycling unit should be working.” Climate control, too. Which was good, 'cause I didn't feel like turning into Roast Gaige.

“That's good.” He paused. “Why Sal?” He was watching Talon explore the small enclosure, pecking every so often at the sandy floor.

I clicked the flashlight off, feeling over my storage deck until I got it safely tucked away again. I didn't know how long we would be here, and I wanted to make sure we had the light if we needed it. The blinking green light provided only enough light for dim silhouettes, and only when it blinked on. “Because I'm good at wasting time with Sal. Drink some booze, fuck each other's brains out, then by the time we slept it off, the sandstorm would be over and we could go home.”

“Salvador?” PURE disbelief.

“Sure.” I shifted back until I was against one of the walls, leaning back to rest my head against it, legs stretched out in front of me. “You don't have any friends with benefits? Enough rakk-ale and I don't even notice the smell anymore.”

That was definitely a snicker. “Enough rakk-ale and you don't notice anything anymore.”

“Exactly.” I shrugged, even though he couldn't see it. “Sal's a sweet guy. Plus he's, you know, me-sized.”

“You-sized?” Now he sounded like he was trying not to laugh.

“Well, obviously he's a lot bigger around than I am, but he's just about the same height as me. The rest of you are all fucking tall, I can't even IMAGINE trying to kiss Brick. I get a crick in my neck even thinking about it. YOU'RE not that much better.” I closed my eyes, not that it made much of a difference in what I could see. “Axton's not that tall, but he's...” I trailed off, and the silence went on for a good few seconds.

“He's what?” Mordy finally asked.

“Attached at the pelvis to Sir Hammerlock.”

He was snickering again, and then it was quiet, the only noise Talon rooting around on the floor. That sound died off too, and I settled in for a wait. 

“You know...” His voice was quiet.

“Hmm?” I was halfway to dozing off. Sleep would pass the time. Of course, I'd probably wake up with my back all twisted in knots, but at least I wouldn't be bored off my ass.

“I know something we could do...” I heard him shifting closer to me, his limbs moving against the gritty floor. And then a hand closed over my ankle and I about hit the fucking ceiling. 

My eyes flew open and I stared at his dark shape as the light came on for a moment. He was fucking laughing at me, his hand still holding my ankle, and I kicked my other leg at him. “What the actual fuck?”

He was undeterred even though my foot connected with some part of him, and he shifted closer, his hand sliding slowly up my leg until it was over my knee and moving steadily- OH. He stopped, his long fingers reaching up the length of my inner thigh, just a fingertip away from the crease where my thigh met my body. “We could kill some time.”

My heard was just starting to settle down from the scare he'd given me, and it skipped a beat at his low tone. “But... I can't see you...”

“I can see you.”

That was news. His goggles were apparently more awesome than I'd given them credit for. “And you're so tall...”

“Won't matter down here. I could hold you up against the wall if that'll help.” My mouth went completely dry. He flexed his fingers, digging slightly into my leg, and I swear I stopped breathing. Just, like, for a second.

“What about Talon?” That was actually the biggest obstacle, I felt a little creepy even thinking about sex when Talon was there. He'd watch us, all un-blinking...

“Sleeping.” His fingers flexed again, and my breath caught. “Unless you don't want to.” The hand was gone and the inside of my thigh was suddenly cold. He was still right there beside me, though, a shadow every time the light blinked on.

“No, I do-” That's all I managed before his lips were hard against mine, stealing whatever other words I'd meant to say. His mouth moved against mine, tongue dipping between my parted lips to find my own. The kiss was hot, slow, like we just had all fucking day.

One hand came to cradle the back of my head, and I reached out blindly to encounter his chest, wrapped in its many layers of red. I slid my hands around him, tilting my head slightly to the side to make it easier to keep my lips moving sinuously against his.

It wasn't very long- or maybe it was forever- before he shifted me to the side, easing me back against the loose sand, mouth slipping from mine to trail along my jaw. He was murmuring things to me that I didn't understand, his voice like liquid heat caressing my entire body. He nipped my earlobe just once, and then I could make him out sitting back, just by my side. I couldn't tell what he was doing, I just heard a bit of rustling. Just when I was going to ask what the fuck was going on, his hands were on my again, sliding up my over my hip, under my hoodie. I was a little surprised to feel the roughness of his fingers against my skin- he'd taken off his gloves.

His fingers trailed lightly enough over my skin that it should have tickled, but the sensations he was causing were anything but. They skimmed up and up until he grazed the outside of my breast, and I was a little puddle of goo.

I reached out for him and encountered bare skin- his shoulder was devoid of both that red thing he wrapped himself with and the shirt underneath. That must have been what had taken so long. I must have vocalized my disappointment somehow, because he said in a very wry tone, “We can stop.”

“No!” Could I have answered any faster? I shook my head. “No. I've just always kinda wondered what you had tucked away under all that fabric, and now I can't even see.”

“You can still touch.” The husky way he said touch almost made me come on the spot, I swear.

I took him up on it, though, sitting back up so that I could use both hands. I started at his shoulders, feeling the tight cord of muscle that stretched out in either direction. A coarseness that could only be hair, just a light line across his chest and a trail down... Small nipples, tight under my fingertips. I could feel the faint outline of his ribs, the flat planes of his abdomen underneath where it disappeared into his pants.

I licked my lips. “I want to see this all some time. Like, soon.”

He chuckled, his stomach fluttering against my questing fingers. Yeah. I needed to see that. And also he needed to lose his pants soon. “You finished feelin' me up?”

“For now. At least until your pants are gone.” Hint.

“My turn.” His other hand hooked under my shirt and pulled both it and my hoodie over my head, and he made an appreciative-sounding murmur. The way his long fingers traced my skin along the edge of my bra made up for him not getting his pants off yet. He didn't even take it off, just sort of pulled the cups down and popped my tits out into his warm hands. His thumbs brushed over the sensitive peaks, making me moan. “Lean back.”

I did what he said, shifting back until I was reclined on my elbows. He followed, and my head fell back as his lips moved down my collarbone, his tongue swirling inside the dip in the middle. He traveled down, a path of seductive heat, until he was nuzzling between my breasts. “Can't do as much as I want to,” he said, his lips brushing my skin with each word. “I don't want to get sand in your pussy.” Immediately after he finished speaking, his mouth closed over my right nipple.

“This is fine,” I managed, my brain struggling to put words into sentences as his tongue flicked over the sensitive skin before nipping gently, the catch of his teeth making me moan again. “Yeah... we're good.”

He chuckled, and then his palm was over my other nipple, the rough callouses rasping across the sensitive skin in the most electrifying way. I was glad I hadn't packed away any booze, sober sex is MUCH more intense. Apparently.

He nibbled and licked and sucked until my fingers were clutching at the sand beneath me, raking trails to the metal floor beneath. And then the heat of his mouth was gone and I actually groaned in disappointment. I was just about aching for him to touch me again, my sensitive parts all tingling. “What are you doing?”

He didn't answer, and I heard the rustle of fabric, and then, “Give me your hand.”

I sat upright again, holding one hand out to him. He gently took my wrist and moved my hand until I encountered something hard and smooth... “Oh.” No more complaints. I wrapped my fingers around his cock and pumped a bit up and down, exploring the size. Maybe a bit thinner than average- long, though. “Yeah, we definitely need to do this again when it's not so dark.” Not taking my hand away for fear of losing him in the dark, I shifted forward, bending down until I could run my tongue along the seam on the underside of his penis. His hips bucked a bit into me, and I did it again. I was just opening my mouth to take my cock inside when he moved away.

“Tease!”

“I'm not going anywhere, I just thought I'd do something we'd both enjoy.” There was a bit of a pause, then, “Don't move.”

I stayed where I was, all bent over, and heard him move around on the sand until he was behind me. His hands moved up over my ass, pushing my skirt up over my hips. His fingers hooked in both my leggings and underwear, abruptly pulling both down. One hand reached under my stomach, pulling me until my ass was a little higher in the air. I braced my arms on the sand, resting my forehead against the metal one.

I felt something pushing easily into my already slick pussy, a finger, from the feel. I pushed my hips back into him, but he withdrew, and then before I could really comprehend the loss, something thicker, hotter, more solid took its place. He slid in until his pelvis hit my ass, and I gasped at the suddenly-full sensation.

He was gripping my hips in both hands and he started to fuck me, first a gentle push-pull, then thrusting in earnest, our skin slapping together with every thrust. I rocked back into him, eagerly meeting each stroke. It felt AWESOME, heat and pleasure spreading through my veins, driving my pleasure on. It wasn't quite enough, though, not quite, and I reached my own hand up and back between my legs, just ahead of where his cock was pounding into me. I circled my clit until I came, crying out into my arm, my free hand digging into the sand.

He wasn't done, though, just held my hips upright as I momentarily went boneless so he could keep driving into me. Soon enough, though, I was meeting him thrust for thrust again, clenching around his cock to increase the friction.

He shifted my hips again, and suddenly every thrust forward pushed directly over my g-spot. I was making some sort of noise, and I could tell he was getting close, because he started talking in that other language again. I reached my hand up to push one finger over my clit again, and this time when I came, I took him with me.

He stiffened, then sort of slumped against me. Our labored breathing echoed in the metal container. That was, like...

“Can we do that again? Not... Not right now, 'cause I'm kinda done. But, like... You know where I live, right?”

He pushed his softening dick into me again and it was still enough I gasped, all kinds of sensitive. “Yeah. Sounds good to me.”

“Awesome.” I licked my lips, suddenly aware that I was just COVERED in fucking sand. Like, my tits, my face, my knees... My knees hurt. I was probably all scratched to hell. “Bed? Yeah?” And my arm. I didn't even want to think about the state of my arm.

“Wall?” he countered as he slipped out of me, both the low suggestion and the movement making me gasp again. “One of the benefits of being tall.”

I heard him shifting his clothes around, and then the digital click of his ECHO. “Hey, Lil. We lost comms in the storm. If the it's over, we'll be headed back.”

I straightened up, and then stood and started putting all of my bits away. Boobs back in my bra, leggings and underwear back in place with my skirt falling down to cover me. I looked around, but I still couldn't see a fucking thing.

“Hey, where's my shirt?”

Mordecai's snicker indicated that Lilith may have heard that, and in just a second, I felt him pushing my clothes at me. Oh well. It wasn't like she wasn't going to know. I DESPERATELY needed a shower, my hair was probably all kinds of horrific.

I heard the latch and then he opened the door a crack. It wasn't much, but the light was still so sudden that I had to squint against it. Soon enough, though, I was able to open my eyes enough to find my hat.

“So. Still wish I was Sal?” Mordy was standing in the doorway smirking, arms folded in front of him as he looked down at me.

“Nah. You're not so bad.”


End file.
